Door County history did not begin with European settlement. Native people lived on the peninsula, certainly since the retreat of the last Ice Age glacier, and some might argue, even before.

The Crossroads at Big Creek Preserve, with a creek filled with fish in the spring…lush  forests…. wildlife would have  been a good place to hunt and fish. .It is hard to imagine that during 12,000 years since the glacial retreat, Indian people did not visit this special place.

As a matter of respect,  before installing the parking lot and beginning construction on the Collins Learning Center, Crossroads sponsored an archaeological survey and we  included middle school students in the dig. The students were thrilled at the experience in spite of the fact that, according to the report, “artifact density is low and no diagnostic artifacts were found.”

However, the report also  contained the tantalizing statement, “shovel testing from the parking lot to the creek yielded additional lithics. After the completion of fieldwork, it was determined that a site probably extended to the south. The location suggested a Middle to Late Archaic Native American component, however Woodland Components might also be present.”

Needless to say, we wanted to keep digging, and thanks to grants and individual donations, in 2013 we started a systematic Phase I survey of our original preserve.  Randy Dickson, the principal investigator of Midwest Archaeological Consultants, LLC led the project  and his team did find an promising site near Big Creek.

Crossroads is all about education, and we are proud to share  that more than 700 schoolchildren have been  involved in the dig by the creek over the past two year. Currently we believe that the site was a seasonal fishing camp, which makes sense to the kids. As they point out, ” Crossroads has seasonal fish.”

When The Nature Conservancy gave us the Ida Bay Preserve, based on geologic features and the proximity to the “pre-canal” Bay of Sturgeon Bay, we had this feeling– a strong feeling. We just knew that people have lived at Ida Bay for a long long time. Last spring, again thanks to  generous grants and gifts, we were able to fund a Phase I survey at the east end of the Ida Bay Preserve. (Yes, that is why all of those flamingo pink flags are out there. The pink poles are the base line and the pink flags mark the grid for the shovel testing.)

This survey was more productive. Archaeologists found arrow heads and pottery shards in quantities that  indicated a settlement of some kind. Recently,  we received a special grant through  Door County Community Foundation to involve the community in the Phase II dig.  In this process, small plots will be  systematically scraped to find all evidence of habitation.

On final two weekends of October, we will offer a  one credit graduate level class for teachers through the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Educational Outreach program. Called Teaching Archaeology in the Elementary School, this class will give teachers hands on experiences which they can share with their students. And, thanks to a special arrangement with the UW-GB, any interested adult  may enroll in this class as non-credit student. Non-credit tuition for this class is $140. See http://www.uwgb.edu/educationoutreach for details.

From October 26-30, school groups will be taking field trips to the site and every student will have a chance to dig, sort, and create maps of the area. We also will offer on-site educational programs, such as knapping demonstrations and GIS mapping  during the day.

We invite interested adults to join us,  either  while the school groups are at the site, or after 3:00 when school is out. To sign up for a day to dig, or to learn more about the class, call 746-5895 or e-mail

info@crossroadsatbigcreek.org. Or if curiosity gets to you, just drop in. The study plots are located near the intersection of Cove Road and Zenith Street.

On  Wednesday, October 28, the Clean Water Action Council will sponsor the lecture, “Preserving Door County’s Sense of Place While Promoting Sustainable Farming.” with writers Lisa Kivisit and John Ivanko.  From pizza farms to pastured poultry, bed and breakfasts to farm-to-table dinners under the stars, innovative entrepreneurs foster creative economic solutions that both preserve Wisconsin’s sense of place and provide innovative ways to connect the public to the farm.  You are invited to harvest ideas and insights from successful ventures and cultivate a new vision for Door County. Meet the speakers in the Collins Learning Center at 6:00 with the lecture beginning at 6:30.

Crossroads at Big Creek is a preserve dedicated to life long learning in science history and the environment. The Collins Learning Center, located at 2041 Michigan, is open 2:00-4:30 daily and during scheduled events.